U.S. patent application number 10/396908 was filed with the patent office on 2004-09-30 for heat sink with visible logo.
This patent application is currently assigned to JDS Uniphase Corporation. Invention is credited to Genova, Ronald R., Stackhouse, Duane S..
Application Number | 20040190256 10/396908 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32824962 |
Filed Date | 2004-09-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040190256 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Genova, Ronald R. ; et
al. |
September 30, 2004 |
Heat sink with visible logo
Abstract
A heat sink is for an element to be cooled has a thermally
conductive base and a plurality of thermally conductive pins or
fins extending substantially perpendicular from the base, said pins
or fins being arranged in a predetermined pattern. The pins at
least partially frame thermally conductive projections extending
substantially perpendicular from said base which forming a
discernable logo having an upper surface and sides for providing
plural cooling surfaces. In this instance the 3-D logo performs
cooling of the components within a package.
Inventors: |
Genova, Ronald R.; (Reading,
PA) ; Stackhouse, Duane S.; (Coopersburg,
PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ALLEN, DYER, DOPPELT, MILBRATH & GILCHRIST P.A.
1401 CITRUS CENTER 255 SOUTH ORANGE AVENUE
P.O. BOX 3791
ORLANDO
FL
32802-3791
US
|
Assignee: |
JDS Uniphase Corporation
San Jose
CA
|
Family ID: |
32824962 |
Appl. No.: |
10/396908 |
Filed: |
March 25, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
361/703 ;
257/E23.102; 257/E23.105; 361/715 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 23/3677 20130101;
H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 23/367
20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
361/703 ;
361/715 |
International
Class: |
H05K 007/20 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A heat sink for an element to be cooled comprising: a thermally
conductive base; a plurality of thermally conductive pins or fins
extending substantially perpendicular from the base, said pins or
fins being arranged in a predetermined pattern; and at least one
thermally conductive projection extending substantially
perpendicular from said base at least partially framed by said pins
or fins forming a discernable logo having an upper surface and
sides for providing plural cooling surfaces.
2. A heat sink as defined in claim 1 wherein the discernable logo
is framed on at least two sides by the a plurality of the thermally
conductive pins or fins.
3. A heat sink as defined in claim 2 wherein the logo is comprised
of a plurality of distinct projections each for providing cooling
and for forming the discernable logo.
4. A heat sink as defined in claim 3, wherein the pins or fins and
the logo are of a same metallic material.
5. A heat sink as defined in claim 3, wherein the pins or fins and
the logo project from said thermally conductive base a same
height.
6. A heat sink as defined in claim 3, wherein the height of the
pins or fins and the height of the logo projecting from said
thermally conductive base are different thereby increasing visual
differentiation.
7. A heat sink as defined in claim 3 wherein the pins or fins are a
different material from that of the projecting logo.
8. A heat sink as defined in claim 3 wherein the pins or fins are a
different colour than the pins.
9. A heat sink as defined in claim 3, wherein the logo is comprised
of pins or fins that are visually distinguishable from said other
pins or fins.
10. An opto-electronic or an electronic module comprising: a
housing for supporting opto-electronic or electronic components;
and a heat dissipating cover for dissipating heat generated by the
components; wherein the heat dissipating cover includes: a
thermally conductive base; a plurality of thermally conductive pins
extending from the base, said pins being arranged in a
predetermined pattern; and at least one thermally conductive
projection extending substantially perpendicular from said base at
least partially framed by said pins or fins forming a discernible
logo having an upper surface and sides for providing plural cooling
surfaces.
11. An opto-electronic or an electronic module as defined in claim
10 wherein the plurality of thermally conductive pins extend
substantially perpendicular from the base.
12. A heat sink as defined in claim 10 wherein the discernable logo
is disposed at a suitable location so as to disrupt airflow through
the pins, thereby assisting in dissipating heat.
13. A heat sink for forming a cover of an electronic module having
heat dissipating components therein, comprising: a substrate having
pins integral therewith and protruding therefrom, and having a logo
integral therewith, wherein the logo, the pins and the substrate
are all formed of a same thermally conducting metallic material,
the pins at least partially bordering said logo, the logo having a
heat dissipating upper surface and sides protruding from the
substrate, said logo defining a three dimensional structure
visually representing information and for providing a medium for
thermal conduction.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to heat sinks and more particularly,
to heat sinks having an identifier within a heat sinking area
adapted for use with electronic or opto-electronic circuits.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] As circuit modules and integrated circuit packages and
devices have become smaller, with shorter circuit traces and
increased internal signal speeds, greater power density has
resulted, causing increased heating of the devices and a need for
improved heat sinking and better thermal management. Three methods
are commonly employed for providing such thermal management. These
methods are natural convection, which relies on air flow for
cooling without any external forces applied to the air; forced
convection where fans or blowers move air in a direction parallel
to the surface of the element from which heat is being removed; and
impingement cooling where the air is blown at the element to be
cooled in a direction perpendicular to its surface.
[0003] Typically, heat sinks are provided with each of the three
methods to improve the removal of heat from the element. While
cooling fins or vanes have been employed for this purpose, cooling
pins are preferably utilized with small elements, such as
integrated circuits, because of their superior performance for a
given volume.
[0004] Numerous pin-type heat sinks are currently on the market
including many designed for use with integrated circuits. However,
there are various problems unique to integrated circuits which are
not fully addressed by existing devices. First, the heat generated
by certain circuits may be greatest in particular locations. For
this reason, it is advantageous to have a heat sink which allows
different amounts of cooling in different regions. Even the heat
generated within a particular circuit within a circuit module
may
[0005] Therefore providing a heat sink with variable cooling across
its surface can be advantageous. Another problem with modules
having an upper surface covered by heat sinking pins is that there
may be little or no space in which to place an identifier such as a
logo or other indicia thereon. The absence of projections such as
pins or fins on a cooling surface would obviously provide less
cooling surface area; heretofore the only known solution to the
applicant was to place an identifier such as a logo on the flat
surface in the from of a flat sticker.
[0006] It is an object of this invention to provide a solution to
combining an identifier such as a logo, company name, or insignia,
on a heat sink.
[0007] It is an object of this invention to provide a logo which
offers heat sinking or cooling ability greater than that of the
area of the base it covers.
[0008] It is an object of the invention to provide a heat sink for
cooling an electronic component, wherein the heat sink has cooling
pins or for example vane-like fins and a cooling logo.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In accordance with this invention, a heat sink is provided
for an element to be cooled comprising:
[0010] a thermally conductive base;
[0011] a plurality of thermally conductive pins or fins extending
substantially perpendicular from the base, said pins or fins being
arranged in a predetermined pattern; and
[0012] at least one thermally conductive projection extending
substantially perpendicular from said base at least partially
framed by said pins or fins forming a discernable logo having an
upper surface and sides for providing plural cooling surfaces.
[0013] The term logo used herein is to mean an identifier, which
can be in the form of an emblem or text to identify for example, a
company or product name.
[0014] In accordance with the invention there is further provided,
a heat sink having pins protruding from a base for cooling, wherein
the pins frame in a region having a logo projecting from the base
for providing cooling of a hot region.
[0015] The invention disclosed herein relating to the mechanical
integration of a logo, for example a company logo, such as that
representing JDS Uniphase, i.e. the JDSU logo into a product's heat
dissipation heatsink apparatus is novel and conveniently performs a
functional task of dissipating heat and disrupting airflow patterns
further improving heat dissipation of the pinned heat sink and
hence the thermal performance of an opto-electronic module while at
the same time establishing unique brand identity. To the inventor's
knowledge, this is the first time a mechanical logo performs such a
functional task.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described
in conjunction with the drawings in which:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a top view of a prior art heat sinking lid of an
optoelectronic component.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a top view of a heat sinking lid in accordance
with this invention, wherein a company logo itself forms a heat
sinking member.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a graph relating to the thermal performance of the
prior art heat sink shown in FIG. 1 depicting airflow versus
ambient temperature.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a graph relating to the thermal performance of the
heat sink shown in FIG. 2 depicting airflow versus ambient
temperature.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a more detailed top view of FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] Turning now to FIG. 1 a lid 12 of a heat sink is shown,
having a plurality of protruding thermally conductive pins 14
arranged across the lid in a predetermined pattern of staggered
rows. The lid 12 is shown to be a cover for an opto-electronic
transceiver module 10 having shrouded receive and transmit optical
input and output optical fiber leads, respectively at an edge of
the module. A flat region absent any pins 12 about an edge of the
module supports a product label. In some instances, where more pins
are required, the region supporting the product label could be
used, however the product label would have to be placed elsewhere,
such as along an un-pinned edge of the module.
[0023] FIG. 2 is an illustration of an improved lid 20, in
accordance with the invention, wherein thermally conductive pins 24
are disposed in a predetermined pattern, and a raised thermally
conductive logo 26 is disposed substantially in the center of the
lid being framed by pins 18. The logo 26 can be made of the same
thermally conductive material as the pins and the lid, or can be
made of a material that is more, or less thermally conductive than
the pins, in accordance with required cooling parameters.
Conveniently, if the logo is formed of a different material, for
example, having a different colour, the logo would visually stand
out more from the thermally conductive pins which frame it. The
logo could also be positioned near an edge or end of the lid.
[0024] Test results have indicated that the lid with the presence
of the logo has superior thermal performance than the prior art lid
of FIG. 1 absent the logo. Therefore two significant advantages are
provided by the inclusion of the logo; enhanced cooling, and
product or brand identification.
[0025] It is believed that even if the logo provided a lesser
cooling ability than having pins in place of the logo, its use as a
brand or product indicator would be useful as long at it provided
adequate thermal conduction. In this instance, the added benefit of
better cooling was an unexpected advantage.
[0026] Although in the preferred embodiment shown, the cooling lid
covers an opto-electronic component, this invention can extend to
many other types of electronic packages requiring a heat sink and
heat sinking indicia such as a logo.
[0027] Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4, plots are shown for the
thermal characteristics of the prior art lid and for the lid in
accordance with the invention respectively. In FIGS. 3 and 4
maintaining a same centrally disposed monitor point on the lid
while maintaining a temperature of 70 degrees C. at that location,
the airflow required is shown. For example, for the device in FIG.
3, when the ambient temperature reached 65-70 degrees C., the
required airflow was approximately 300 linear feet per minute. In
contrast, in FIG. 4, corresponding to the heat sink with the logo,
when the ambient temperature was 65-70 degrees C., the required
airflow was less than 225 linear feet per minute which is a
substantial improvement over the prior art heat sink.
[0028] Although the JDSU.TM. logo shown in the exemplary embodiment
provides superior results and brand identification, other logos and
means of providing differentiation from surrounding pins can
envisaged. For example thicker pins, taller pins or lower pins in
the form of a logo can be used to distinguish from the pattern of
heat sinking pins disposed thereabout as a frame or partial
frame.
[0029] Of course, numerous other embodiments may be envisaged,
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *